January 14, 2013
UL becomes the world's leading material specification knowledge platform with addition of chemical, ingredient and raw material information provider
NORTHBROOK, Ill. / Overland Park, Kan. - January 14, 2013 - UL, a world leader in advancing safety, announced today the acquisition of Overland Park, Kansas-based Innovadex, the leading search and information exchange platform for supplier chemicals, ingredients and raw materials. The strategic addition expands UL's search offering to fully serve several new product categories, including paints & coatings, adhesives, inks, lubricants, cosmetics, cleaners and food & beverages.
Innovadex's specialized knowledge platform gives thousands of product formulators, chemists and scientists around the world accurate, timely access to suppliers' technical information. The intuitive search and filter interface enables users to develop healthier, safer products by quickly mining a comprehensive database of more than 800,000 documents from over 1,400 suppliers.
"UL has an ambitious vision for simplifying the complexities of the global supply chain, as well as the resources to deliver on it," said Bruce Ianni, founder & CEO of Innovadex. "We are thrilled that the Company sees in the Innovadex information exchange technology the opportunity to advance the vision faster across more industries and regions."
The acquisition follows UL's November release of its 2012 Product Mindset study, which found that 76 percent of manufacturers believe global sourcing is a means to improve product quality. Innovadex's dynamic platform connects 130,000 design-side and supply-side members representing over 60,000 companies across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
"Innovadex's talented team and powerful information exchange will immediately benefit UL and our valued customers," said Sara Greenstein, president of UL Environment. "Innovadex advances UL's goal of helping engineers save valuable development time and make healthier and safer products by empowering them with faster, more substantive information, deeper levels of details and access to more alternatives."
Innovadex will continue to serve customers from its http://www.innovadex.com/ website, and the team will remain at Innovadex's Overland Park headquarters. Innovadex's management team will be led by Mr. Ianni and Jim Dodd, who will report to Ms. Greenstein.
About INNOVADEX
Innovadex is the most powerful specialized search engine in the chemical, foods and life science sector, offering specialized information exchange services that connect product innovators at end-product manufacturers with technical documents, sales and support personnel at suppliers that fuel innovation with materials, equipment and services. For more information, visit Innovadex.com.
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 118 years of history. Employing more than 9,000 professionals in over 100 countries, UL has five distinct business units -- Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge Services, and Verification Services - to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. Additional information about UL may be found at UL.com.